Labour shortage, good rains to spur herbicide usage this year

A scarcity of migrant farm labour brought on by the Covid disaster and projected fantastic monsoon in the period forward are set to induce the greater use of herbicides by the farmers across the place.

Agrochemical makers these types of as Bayer and Pesticides India Ltd see a spurt in income of herbicides as farmers are witnessed relying additional on chemical compounds these types of as glyphosate and pretilachlor to lower their cultivation charges amidst labour scarcity and shield their yields.

“The herbicide industry has been fantastic and there is a enormous need. When there are additional rains, the need for herbicide goes up. This yr, the pre-monsoon showers have been fantastic and the monsoon is also predicted to be fantastic,” reported Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director of Pesticides (India) Ltd, which earns about 30 per cent of its revenues from herbicides.

The farm labour scarcity brought on by Covid disaster has created additional issues for farmers in States these types of as Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, who rely on migrant labourers from the eastern components of the place. Also, with the manpower turning into additional high priced by the working day, farmers have to rely on the use of chemical compounds, Agarwal added.

‘Herbicide year’

“This is going to be a herbicide yr for India,” reported Simon Weibusch, Main Working Officer of Bayer India Crop Science division. India has customarily been an insecticide industry, even though globally the herbicide industry is bigger. “There is a fantastic fascination for herbicides by the trade,” Weibush reported, incorporating it is far too early to quantify the need.

The farm labour scarcity has grow to be common in the course of Covid triggering a shift in cropping styles these types of as immediate seeding in rice in states these types of as Punjab and Haryana.

These a pattern is also driving the need for herbicides, Weibusch reported. Also, the greater fascination in herbicide tolerant technologies is stemming from the better labour cost for weeding, he reported.

Asitava Sen, Main Govt Officer, CropLife India, a body of agrochemical makers, reported the domestic crop protection industry in India is estimated to be ₹21,000 crore in the course of 2019, a expansion of eight.nine per cent in excess of 2018 estimates.

“Of this, the herbicide industry is ₹4,five hundred crore with a 12.3 per cent expansion in excess of 2018 estimates. Herbicides have emerged as the second major segment just after insecticides, and registered the optimum expansion among the three key segments,” Sen reported.

“We assume an vital position for herbicides in mitigating the problems of crop losses. As the kharif period commences, the government must make sure progressive and supportive science-based mostly regulatory natural environment and faster registration method to make a broader selection of good quality crop protection items readily available to the farmers,” Sen added.

Dhanuka Agritech, which introduced crop certain herbicides for cotton and soyabean a short while ago, also sees enormous chance in this segment as farmers are working with additional chemical compounds to shield their yields from weeds, the corporation explained to traders in a current publish earnings call. Herbicides add all over 31 per cent of Dhanuka’s revenues.

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